promise ; b blake ii

chapter 2

"So where are we going?" I asked as Clarke led the way through foreign hallways.

"Out of here," she said. "You seem to be the only one that wants to find our friends."

I nodded. "And that key card will get us out?" It was her turn to nod.

We had been walking down the path in quick steps when suddenly yellow lights lit up on the walls and speakers began speaking all around us, making us run. "Not prisoners, huh?" Clarke mumbled. We took off in a sprint, skidding to a stop when we saw guards running towards us. We turned to go the opposite way, but there were other guards. So, we sprinted in the only direction that was possible, finally getting to a large, metal door. I held up the key card to the panel, seeing the lights flash green, the door unlocking. We both gripped the metal and flung it open, walking behind the door and breathing heavily as Clarke shut it.

Then, we turned around.

It was dark, a large flight of stairs going up, one going down to the right.

Clarke took the wires on the wall and grunted as she ripped them off from the wall, sparks flying as I whistled. "Okay, let's go up, maybe find the roof," I told her.

We both sprinted up the stairs and out of a door, rounding the corner. "Unauthorized access," the speaker continued saying, yellow flashing lights continuing. 

We got to a circular door, and I quickly gestured to the wheel, which we both began turning.

"Clarke, Carson, no!" Our heads turned to see Maya and Jasper, both frantically out of breath. "If you pull that lever, these people will die. Even a little radiation could kill them."

Not my problem.

"Then where's the door they used to 'save' us?" I asked. "Maybe we can leave from there," I hissed.

Maya then came over with a gun, kneeling on the floor and aiming it right at us. I stepped in front of Clarke, snarling at the girl, "I dare you to pull that trigger."

Jasper ran in front of the gun, telling the girl, "Wait, wait." He turned to us. Clarke gripped the lever. "Don't do this," he pleaded quietly.

"Jasper, don't you see we don't belong here?" I whispered. "This is never going to be our home."

He clenched his jaw and turned to Clarke. "Clarke, when you pulled that lever, you saved lives. Don't lose that by pulling this one."

I stayed silent as Clarke dropped her hands painfully, hearing the guards come from around the corner with their heavy boots. I sighed in disappointment. Men grabbed at my arms, pushing me to the ground and handcuffing my hands behind my back.

Then, they ever so gently pulled me to my feet, pushing me along through the hallways.

I had eventually ended up in the small dining room again, taking a seat next to Monty. He smiled at me. I barely mustered up a smile. Monty gripped my hand under the table. "Carson, we want you to be happy. You know that, right?"

I smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Monty."

He smiled back and let go of my hand, seeing Clarke walk into the place. I waved for her to come sit next to me, which she took me up on my offer. When people had filled in the seats of the table, I looked around.

A girl with strawberry blond hair sat across from us, her slightly curled hair going down almost to her hips. She looked almost like she knew nobody there, even though her own people surrounded her.

When everyone had stood up and made a thanking toast, I ignored it and stayed in my seat. I didn't speak, or move. I just sat still. I did get some ungrateful looks from people from this place, but not like I care.

When it was done, everyone sat back down, beginning to dig into their food. I looked down at my plate, which consisted of some type of soup.

"I'm Brook."

My head shot upwards to see the girl who sat across from me, leaning a bit across the table and smiling at me.

"What?" I asked.

She laughed airily. "My name, it's Brook."

My shoulders fell. I stayed still, until I felt Clarke nudge my shoulder. I cleared my throat and held my hand out to the girl, her gladly taking it. "I'm Carson."

She smiled and nodded. She then took her small dessert plate from beside her and placed it in front of me. I raised an eyebrow. "Try the chocolate cake. You look like you could use it," she winked.

I laughed a bit, forcing my eyes to crinkle, and shrugged. I looked over to Clarke, seeing she was already digging into her stew.

I lifted my fork, hesitantly, and grabbed a piece of the cake. I took the fork up to my mouth and bit into it.

I almost moaned out loud.

Once I had swallowed it, I held a hand over my mouth. "Holy shit," I breathed.

Everyone laughed at me. "Language," Monty muttered.

As I enjoyed myself further, I only felt guiltier, the thought nagging my brain that not all of my friends were here. That the likelier possibility was that our other friends were dead.

I refused to believe that.

This place reminded me of a dollhouse. Everything staged perfectly, smiles permanently drawn on the mountain people's faces. Like hands were playing with the pawns, always watching and manipulating things to turn out how they wanted.

I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe we were the pawns.

—
944 words
although i like this book for carson's character the lack of bellamy is painful so hope you enjoy anyways
-maya;)